Plastic clips in Jill Hosbein's nose connect to a portable oxygen machine that the 45-year-old Portage woman relies on to help her breathe.

Dependence on the machinery is a cakewalk compared to her reliance on people, the very people her volunteer service touched over the years, some of whom she wouldn't know if she saw them on the street. This includes individuals from her time with the Portage Community Outreach Center, the city of Portage and the Girl Scouts Glowing Embers Council.

"I've had so many offers of help that I can't accept them all," Hosbein said. "I've been trying to do things for myself because it makes me feel better."

Surgery and subsequent chemotherapy and radiation to treat the lung cancer she was diagnosed with in May have left Hosbein fatigued and, by her own admission, in the uncomfortable position of recipient as opposed to giver.

"I have such a great support system, and you're looking at the captain right there," said Hosbein of her sister, Jackie Brown, who was seated next to her at a dining room table.